You knew this was going to happen -- a bidding war for rights to the film and a TV special about Michael Jackson's final days. In this case, it also includes rights to hundreds of hours of video of rehearsals for the tour that never was.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Sony is leading the pack in acquiring film rights, while NBC has the inside track on the TV special.

As reported by the Times, the TV special sounds intriguing: "The special would be broadcast in September and it would be directed by Kenny Ortega, the choreographer-director responsible for such hits as “Dirty Dancing” and “High School Musical.” ...It is described as featuring an ensemble of superstars that might include Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and Will.I.Am performing Jackson’s hits using the costuming, choreography, aerial ballet and special effects-driven illusions that had been engineered for the singer’s comeback, a source said."                                                                                   (Photo Mark Ralston /AFP/Getty Images)

Continue reading "Bidding war for film, TV rights on Michael Jackson" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

While a number of readers of this blog have expressed their disappontment in learning that the TV audience for Micahel Jackson's memorial service Tuesday was smaller than that of the funeral of Princess Diane in 1997 and the burial of Ronald Reagan in 2004, I have been trying to stress that neither of those event had anywhere near the online audience watching live video streams.

When you add the more than 20 million people watching live TV coverage on computer and mobile screens Tuesday to the 31 million watching on TV screens, the Jackson memorial wins hands down. And I have received many comments and emails from folks who were in that online audience at work Tuesday.

That points to one of the other groundbreaking aspects of coverage of Jackson's death for the past 13 days -- the degree to which fans combined new and old media in getting their news and analysis about Jackson.

How and where did you watch Jackson coverage? And did it make a difference in your experience of the events?

Continue reading "Michael Jackson fans use new, old media in tandem" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Michael Jackson, New media
        

An combined audience of 31.1 million viewers on 18 networks watched the memorial service for Michael Jackson on TV Tuesday.

That was 2 million fewer than the TV audience for the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997, and 4 million fewer than the number who tuned in for President Ronald Reagan's burial in 2004, according to Nielsen.

While the smaller size of the Jackson TV audience might seem surprising, consider that the memorial service did record and near-record numbers in online viewing. MSNBC.com set a record with 19 million video streams, while CNN had its second highest total ever with 19.5 million live and on-demand video streams.

Continue reading "Michael Jackson memorial TV: Reagan, Diana bigger" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

Twelve days is a long time for near non-stop TV coverage of any one event. In terms of funerals, it is unprecedented in American television.

So, I am wondering on this morning after a day of Michael Jackson memorial coverage, how viewers are feeling.

Historically on such TV orgies, the mood has been akin to a hangover: It was too much, and we are never going there again.

But I don't feel that way. On Sunday, I argued on CNN's Reliable Sources media show that the TV coverage was not excessive. Maybe it wasn't war or taxes, but Jackson mattered in a profound way to many people, and part of our job is to understand, if not respond, to that. I still feel that way today.

Continue reading "Michael Jackson, the morning after: Too much TV?" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (68)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

TV coverage of the Michael Jackson’s death had it all Tuesday: helicopter freeway shots of the funeral procession, an army of breathless anchors to ratchet up anticipation and, last but not least, the singer’s gold-plated, flower-draped casket on view for a massive worldwide audience.

Yet through all the media build-up, anticipation and pomp, the actual memorial service remained extraordinarily moving and elegant.

Talk about a day of TV worthy of the king of pop spectaculars. Maybe the difference lies mainly in all the new media that have arrived in the last 30 years, but Elvis Presley went out like a peasant in 1977 compared to Jackson's TV sendoff Tuesday.

The TV coverage started early on the network morning shows, and it was as wild and uneven as Jackson's remarkable life and career.

Continue reading "Michael Jackson memorial: What a day of TV mourning" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

From the Harlem Gospel Choir singing "We Are the World" in Times Square outside the ABC News studio, to CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker at Forest Lawn Cemetery quoting unnamed "sources" as to whether or not Michael Jackson was buried Monday night, the networks got up early Tuesday to kick off their national day of TV mourning.

Outside of weather and news at the "top of the hour," as the anchors says, the morning shows were jammed packed with Jackson coverage even if it was only 4 a.m. in Los Angeles when Today, Good Morning America and The Early Show hit the airwaves.

Morning shows can be embarrassing on regular days, but when it comes to big events for which they don't have any kind of particular news access or exclusives, they can be downright pathetic. Count Harry Smith, co-host of the CBS Early Show, in that category for fawning over Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart like she was Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein combined because Jackson invited her to some of his concerts and to dinner in his hotel suite and, in at least one case, gave her a "gift," according to Hart.

Continue reading "Michael Jackson memorial: TV day starts with strain" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

At 12 days and counting, the length of coverage has already run longer than anyone’s idea of a state funeral. Tuesday, the degree of saturation of TV coverage on the death of Michael Jackson reaches the boiling point.

All of the major networks and cable news channels will be offering live coverage of the Jackson memorial service starting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Staples center in Los Angeles.

NBC had looked as if it would skip live coverage and go only with a one-hour prime-time special Tuesday night. But network executives changed their plans Sunday, and announced that NBC will join ABC and CBS in covering the memorial service live with their top anchors. Both Today show co-host Meredith Vieira and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams will be at the Staples Center Tuesday.

Vieira will serve as co-host of Tuesday’s Today show, while Williams anchors the memorial service. ABC has Charles Gibson penciled in at the anchor desk live from the Staples Center for its full court press Tuesday afternoon.

Continue reading "Michael Jackson coverage could set record Tuesday" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

If you think there has been too much Michael Jackson on TV, wait until the funeral. Or, how about Matt Lauer and NBC's Today show getting inside Neverland for a Thursday morning tour? And then, Larry King offering the TV tour of Jackson's ranch in prime time at 9 p.m. Thursday. Matt Lauer, Larry King and Neverland -- isn't American TV fabulous?

But for my part, so far, I really do not think the coverage has been excessive. I am pleased, in fact, to see TV serving so effectively as a medium for the ritual of public mourning. (Not bad for a so-called dinosaur, is it?). Furthermore, TV is providing the forum for an illuminating discussion of race in connection with the dead entertainer -- and I think that matters in an important cultural way.

The latest entry on that front came Tuesday night with Katie Couric interviewing filmmaker Spike Lee for a CBS special on Jackson. The program, which aired under the 48 Hours banner, won the time period with 8.15 million viewers -- one of the largest audiences of the year for 48 Hours. (Pictured Spike Lee at a Michael Jackson tribute. AP)

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Posted by David Zurawik at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

There was big news on Thursday night, and CNN was far and away the cable channel most Americans tuned to.

The 24/7 news channel, which usually trails its opinion-dominated competitors on Fox and MSNBC in weeknight viewing, doubled and tripled MSNBC's audience at times as viewers sought information on the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Just as it was during last fall's election, CNN is still clearly the channel of choice when viewers want reliable, fact-based information on major events.

MSNBC, meanwhile, which no longer bothers to even cover news on the weekends, was the most ignored major news channel from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., the Nielsen window of measurement. The NBC sister channel also finished a deep last in prime time -- the time period in which it rose and is now starting to fall with a slumping Keith Olbermann.

Continue reading "CNN rules on night of Jackson, Fawcett death news" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

MTV is the place be Friday night if you are looking to make a TV connection to feelings of loss for Michael Jackson. Since the announcement of the singer's death on Thursday, the one-time music video powerhouse has been using its vast archive of Jackson music videos to create a profoudn Tv space of mourning and celebration. Read my review here.

But the Jackson beat will continue throughout the weekend on many channels and networks.

Here are some of the highlights and potential lowlights. That's the way it is with popular culture at moments like this -- not all of it is great.

Friday night at 8, TV one shows Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration produced by David Gest. It will replay at 11 p.m.

Friday night at 10, NBC will replay Michael Jackson: King of Pop, the Dateline special it aired Thursday.

Continue reading "A weekend of Michael Jackson TV programming" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

MTV is the place to be as the cable channel extends its non-stop, wall-to-wall Michael Jackson tribute with a stunning array of Jackson music videos and music performances though 8 p.m. Friday. What's going on at MTV in the wake of Jackson's death is nothing short of a profound cultural experience.

In addition to the endless stream of music videos, there are cut-ins from mtvnews.com featuring music journalist Kurt Loder who started at the cable channel in the 1980s. He brings instant credibility and history. There is also a Twitter crawl across the bottom of the screen with fan thoughts and tributes for a strong new-media, multi-media thread of consciousness.

But it's the music videos that really resurrect the greatness and spirit of Jackson's work. If you are near a TV and feeling the loss of Jackson, get over to MTV for comfort, solace and, perhaps, even  a melancholy re-connection with your own past. This is televisual collective mourning -- and celebration --at its best.

(Pictured Michael Jackson with his 2006 MTV Award)

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Posted by David Zurawik at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

The Nielsen Media Company is reporting that online talk about the death Michael Jackson is more intense than it was for the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Here's a link to the actual numbers from the national audience measurement service -- including a list of the Top 10 TV shows involving Michael Jackson. It's a fascinating list topped by an ABC report from Martin Bashir and a 60 Minutes interview by the late Ed Bradley.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/michael-jackson-news-dominates-web-buzz/

Posted by David Zurawik at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Michael Jackson
        

The death of Michael Jackson has driven traffic on CNN's iReport site to record levels.

The program set up in 2006 to encourage viewers around the world to become citizen journalists filing videos and reports to CNN received 660 iReports in the 6 and 1/2  or so hours between the announcement of Jackson's death and midnight Thursday (the internal measuring device used by CNN only counts midnight to midnight).

A total of 29 were approved for air on CNN and posting on cnn.com after going through a vetting process that I write about in my column in the arts section of Sunday's Sun. (The Sunday piece focuses on user generated content and Iran.)

One of the most timely pieces received in the immediate wake of Jackson's death was a video of Times Square as the announcement was first posted high above the crowd. It is the only video I have seen so far of that moment in time, and it offers an evocative sense of the stunned reaction. This is exactly the kind of thing citizen journalism can offer -- a record of an important moment captured by someone in the right place at the right time before the mainstream press gets there.

Continue reading "Fans flood CNN with Michael Jackson iReports" »

Posted by David Zurawik at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Michael Jackson